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came up unavailable. I hesitated. Unavailable numbers at this hour of the morning usually meant surprises. I hated surprises, but I answered the phone anyway.
    “Hello?”
    “Trent.”
    Damn. This wasn’t a surprise, this was a disaster. I should have gone with my first instinct and let the phone ring because I recognized the voice right away. It was Michelle, my ex-girlfriend, the only woman other than Melanie and my mother whom I ever really cared about. Michelle was my girl for almost ten years, and I never had as much fun with a woman as I did with her. Yeah, I’d cheated on her countless times throughout our relationship, but I’d never thought about settling down with anyone other than her. Hell, I thought she was my soul mate. At least I did until she ended up pregnant and tried to play me. That’s when the fun and games were over and I had to kick her ass to the curb. I went through nine months of pregnancy with her, and that baby didn’t look anything like me.
    “What you want, Michelle?”
    “What you think I want? I want some money. I want some Pampers. I want you to come see your son. You ain’t come to see this boy since he’s been born. He’s almost eight months old now.”
    “Look, Michelle, I told you that’s not my baby. He’s too dark to be my baby. Now don’t call here no more. Do you understand me?” I was about to hang up the phone when she exploded.
    “Don’t call you! Motherfucker, I’ll call you whenever I want! Who the fuck do you think you’re playin’ with? I’m not one of these stupid bitches you be running game on. I’m Michelle, the bitch that had your baby. You better recognize. Now I need some money, Trent. And your baby needs a daddy!” I could almost see her head twisting as she spoke.
    “I ain’t giving you shit ’cause that’s not my baby. Now don’t call my house no more. How the fuck you get my number anyway?”
    “Your sister-in-law gave it to me when she and your mother came over last week.”
    “What the fuck were they doing over there?”
    “They came to see their grandson and nephew. Everyone knows he’s your baby, Trent. Now if you don’t wanna act like a father on your own, then I’ll make you be a father. You ain’t running around town driving no Mercedes and my baby ain’t got no Pampers. I’ll see you in court, motherfucker.”
    “Is that a threat? I know you didn’t just threaten me.”
    “No. That’s not a threat. That’s a fuckin’ promise. You made me carry this boy for nine months ’cause you wanted to be a daddy like Wil. Then you had the nerve to walk out the delivery room because you thought he was too dark. Fuck you! The least you coulda did was ask for a blood test.”
    “Wasn’t no need for no blood test. I got eyes. I can see that baby don’t look nothing like me.”
    “You one ignorant motherfucker, you know that? Now we might be light, but my daddy was black as coal. And so is your baby.”
    She hung up the phone with a loud click. I was tempted to call her back and put her in her place. I hated when anyone got the last word in an argument, especially a woman. But I decided to let shit die. Michelle knew the deal.
    Remembering why I came into the kitchen in the first place I opened up the fridge and pulled out the orange juice. I took a long swig from the carton before I put it back, then walked into the living room. I was just lucky enough to catch the sun starting to peek over Jamaica Bay through my sliding glass door. Man, I tell you, it was one beautiful sight. I’d made a lot of mistakes in my life recently, but renting this place on the water wasn’t one of them.
    Once the sun was up I decided to head back to my bedroom. That’s when I noticed my office light was on. I walked in to turn it off only to find Indigo, my new friend from the club, standing naked in front of the gold records on my wall. I’d replaced my dentistry degrees with the gold records after Brenda and I had our little falling out over the